Washington prep tight end names Texas - not Florida - his leader

The Florida Gators were presumed to be the leaders for Austin Seferian-Jenkins by recruiting analysts until the 6-foot-7, 250-pounder announced his final eight

May 14, 2010|By Patrick Lammer, Sun Sentinel

Gig Harbor, Wash., tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who Florida was presumed to be the leader for, has announced his eight finalists.

The surprise is the 6-foot-7, 250-pounder hasn't been offered yet by his self-proclaimed leader.

Florida, Texas, Washington, USC, UCLA, Cal, Alabama and LSU all remain in the hunt for Seferian-Jenkins' services, but it is the Longhorns who currently stand out above the rest.

"Texas would be at the top even though they haven't offered," Seferian-Jenkins told Rivals.com. "... I'm talking to coach [Bruce] Chambers a lot now. It's really exciting for them to recruit me and they have a really good school, and they run a similar offense to my high school that I run right now so it would be an easy transition for me."

The Washington prep hopped onto the national radar as a junior when he caught 62 passes for 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Florida lost its starting tight end from a year ago when All-American Aaron Hernandez left school early to enter the NFL Draft. Hernandez was selected in the fourth round by the New England Patriots.

The Gators have four verbal commitments for their 2011 class, including one tight end in Jacksonville University Christian's A.C. Leonard (6-2, 232).